Blocus, the hashtag spread through social media to call for mobilizations among young Europeans

"Blockade" means the French word Blocus that has been circulating on social media lately, using the hashtagamong young people.

Boththrough TikTok  and through messaging apps, young people are attracted to protest calls by the Blocus . In addition, protests related to this hashtag have reached several European countries, while the police are investigating who is behind these accounts. 

It first appeared in messages calling for participation in education-related protests, but has been extended to all kinds of calls in a short time. In Barcelona, the calls spread under the term Blocus have also become a focus of attention following the riots during the protests of 24 October. 

In particular, theorigin of the messages  is being investigated and the relationship between the accounts that have disseminated them. For the time being, it has not been confirmed that the calls associated with this hashtag belong to any particular organization. 

The platform appears to have a QR code to join the Telegram or Whatsapp groups, which provides instructions onhowto participate in the protests:  how to dress, intersections and routes, among others.

From French state protests to European networks 

The term blocus is framed in the context of student mobilizations in the French state, where school blockades are a form of protest. 

In Italy, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands,mobilizations have also been organised in similar ways, although not all countries use the same name or term.

In all of them, however, social media has been the key to the spread of calls. Through short videos, digital posters and hashtags , messages are quickly shared by young people, reaching out to users who are not part of student groups.

TikTok and messaging groups, broadcast channels 

Some of the calls have been released throughanonymous\ u00A0 profiles created on TikTok. 

In this regard, in the case of Barcelona, the Mossos d'Escaladra are investigating who manages the profiles and whether there is coordination between them.

However, after the events, some of the accounts were deleted, which has made it difficult to know who is behind these profiles.